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Sabah FC qualifies for Champions League group stage

Updated 3 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-08-26 07:31 UTC → 2026-08-28 17:33 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Azerbaijani club Sabah FC has progressed through multiple stages of the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds. In late July 2026, Sabah faced Finnish champions KuPS in a second-leg qualifying tie. After holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg in Baku, Sabah secured a 2-0 victory in Kuopio with goals from Velko Simiç and Coy-Lens Mikels. This resulted in a 2-0 aggregate win, allowing Sabah to advance to the third qualifying round. Sabah subsequently advanced to the fourth qualifying round after defeating Danish champions AGF Aarhus. Following a 4-0 victory in the second leg, Sabah secured a 5-2 aggregate win to continue their pursuit of the Champions League group stage. Polish defender Tymoteusz Puchacz noted that the team utilized physical superiority and adapted to high temperatures in Baku to overcome the Danish side. In the Champions League play-off round, Sabah faced Israel's Hapoel Beer Sheva. After losing the first leg 2-1, Sabah secured a 5-2 victory in extra time during the second leg in Baku, resulting in a 6-4 aggregate win. Following an early goal by Igor Zlatanovic, Sabah responded with goals from Kristian Nwakuche and Umarali Rahmonaliev. Tellur Mutallimov scored in the 124th minute to force extra time, where Sabah capitalized on a red card for Jibril Diop to score through Orfey Mbina and Joy-Lancs Michels. This victory qualified the club, founded in 2017 and led by head coach Valdas Dambrauskas, for the UEFA Champions League group stage. Following the league phase draw, Sabah FK is set to make its competition debut against a variety of European clubs. The Azerbaijani side will host FC Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, SSC Napoli, and Slavia Prague, while traveling to face Arsenal FC, Manchester United, Villarreal, and Viking Stavanger.

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